ann y.k. choi
Toronto-based author and educator
“toenails twinkle”
Dylan Thomas
I was riding the subway when a group of teenagers were reading and talking about the poem wedged between two ads. For over ten years, Poetry on the Way, has been placing short poems on TTC subways, cars, and streetcars in Toronto.
“Poetry is what gets lost in translation,” said one of the kids quoting, Dylan Thomas. I was most impressed!
Ever since I first read, “Do not go gentle into that good night” in high school, I’ve admired Thomas’ poetry.
Here are a few thoughts on poetry by Thomas worth passing along:
“A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape of the universe, helps to extend everyone’s knowledge of himself and the world around him.”
“Poetry is what makes me laugh or cry or yawn, what makes my toenails twinkle, what makes me want to do this or that or nothing.”
ann y.k. choi 